Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady
by elenamindollin
Summary: Title change: formerly Love Is Not For the Faint of Heart. GaryCarmen Post SK3. Gary gets assigned to a new, top secret mission with Carmen, Gerti, Juni, and a newcomer. What starts out as a simple OSS trip, however, suddenly gets more complicated...
1. New Mission

_Hello all! I'm dabbling in a new fandom and this is my first Spy Kids fic, so let me know how it is (good, bad, pathetic, etc.) I'm pretty good at getting in updates, but my speed varies depending on what else I'm working on and how well the story's progressing. Hopefully this one won't get stuck in a rut. None of my others have yet... Enjoy!_

_DISCLAIMER: If you all really need to be told, then you have issues, but just in case... obviously these characters are not mine, I'm just using some creative license. I intend to try my best to keep them in character and true to canon. The plot idea, however, is mine.

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**Chapter One: New Mission**

"Welcome back, Gary," the cool automated voice intoned as he walked into his room and tossed his belongings on the king-size bed. "How was your day?"

He grumbled, "Fine," in response, which apparently satisfied the computer, because it changed the subject.

"You have one unviewed telemessage. Would you like to view it?"

Reaching across his bed, he picked up the simple black remote and pointed it at his seemingly innocent full-length mirror. It suddenly jumped away from the wall and flipped around, revealing a doorway to the tv room he shared with his younger sister, Gerti. Walking in, he shed his uniform jacket and said, "Play."

Obediently, the tv turned on and the computerized voice announced, "Message from the director of the OSS to: Gary and Gerti Giggles."

"Hold on," he ordered. The screen froze immediately. "Gerti?" he asked into his multi-purpose wristwatch, "Come to the tv room."

"Be right there," his twelve-year-old sister replied. A few seconds later, a panel on the opposite side of the room sprang open and his little sister walked in, her hair up in its characteristic twin ponytails. "What's up?"

Gary indicated the screen. "Message from Gregorio Cortez to us."

"Juni's dad?"

"The director of the OSS," Gary corrected mildly, suppressing a smile at his sister's initial reaction.

"Right." She arranged her expression into one of polite interest and directed her next remark to the screen. "Play."

The familiar face of Gregorio Cortez appeared on screen. "Gary and Gerti Giggles, you are requested to meet in Briefing Room B with three other agents as 1700 hours to discuss with the Director – me – a matter of great urgency. Do you accept this summons and its accompanying mission?"

The screen went blank and the computerized voice once again spoke. "Please state whether or not you will accept; and automatic telemessage will be sent with your reply."

Gary cast a glance at his sister. She nodded silently and he acknowledged it with an answering nod. Looking back at the screen, he squared his shoulders and said, "We accept."

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_How's that for an opening? Please review! _


	2. Operation: Debug

**Chapter Two: Operation: Debug**

Just before 5:00 that evening, Gary and Gerti walked briskly down the mostly-empty corridors to Briefing Room B, dressed in their cleanest, most neatly-pressed uniforms.

"Who do you think the other three agents will be?" Gerti asked when the stopped in front of Briefing Room B for their identity confirmation.

"Your name?" an automated female voice asked.

"Gary Allen Giggles."

"Confirmed," the computer said, and commenced a laser scan of his face.

"I don't know," he said as the laser swept down his torso, "but I'll bet that if this mission's as important as it sounds, Carmen and Juni will be on it."

"I hope so," Gerti said emphatically, "All the other agents annoy me."

Gary looked at her as the laser beeped green and shut off. "And _they_ don't?" he asked skeptically.

She shrugged. "Not anymore."

"Your name?" the computer asked Gerti.

She rolled her eyes and recited, "Gertrude Annabelle Marie Giggles." As the computer confirmed her voice and name, she muttered under her breath, "And Dad wonders why I go by 'Gerti.'"

Gary chuckled slightly as the laser scanned his sister, beeped green, and the door swung open, admitting them to the room. As usual, they were early, and only one person was in the room before them.

"Oh, hi Gary," Carmen said, getting to her feet and extending her hand for him to shake.

As usual, he felt a tightness in his stomach whenever Carmen was around, but he pushed it aside and converted his tension into a bow, raising her hand to his lips briefly before releasing it. "Hello, Carmen," he said, pleased at the steadiness in his voice.

To his surprise and pleasure, she blushed – something he hadn't seen her do since they were both fourteen. Their eyes met and locked. Gary allowed himself a small smile, which Carmen warmly returned. Bashfully, she tucked her long brown hair behind her ear. "It's um…been awhile since we went on a mission together," she said.

He smiled dryly. "Not since the Toymaker Incident, and that wasn't even a real mission."

"It was for me!" she retorted indignantly, her eyes flashing teasingly. "I just called you in to do the grunt work."

"Like saving your life?" he asked seriously.

"Yeah," she replied, her eyes sobering ever so slightly. "It's good to have someone to trust for things like that."

Gary felt a surge of hope flood through him. Did she mean that the way it sounded?

Suddenly Gerti, who had been patiently observing the exchange, leaned in. "Dad alert!" she hissed warningly, just as Gregorio, Juni, and a tall, handsome young man with brown skin and browner hair came in.

Gary and Carmen had just enough time to jump apart and assume distant expressions before the others joined them.

"Hi Dad!" Carmen said brightly. "We were just waiting for you."

Gregorio's eyes traveled from Gary to Carmen and back again. "I see."

The tall boy came forward, jostling Gary slightly as he greeted Carmen. "Good evening, Miss Cortez," he said in a cultured Spanish accent. "It's an honor to meet the top female spy in the organization." He swept an elegant bow and brought Carmen's hand to his lips in a grand gesture that made Gary's earlier version seem clumsy and ungraceful.

Carmen blushed deeply as he lingered over her hand and she looked away. "The pleasure's all mine," she murmured in a voice that Gary didn't recognize as hers. Intense dislike washed over him without any apparent reason other than the fact that this stranger had managed to transform fiery, sassy Carmen into a well-mannered, demure young lady.

"Ahem." Gregorio had by now seated himself behind the desk, donned his frameless glasses, and now watched them expectantly.

Juni and Gerti sat down hastily on two of the five waiting stools, followed by Carmen, who sat down beside her brother. In one quick step, Gary moved past the other boy and claimed the seat on her other side. The other boy smiled a little and smoothly took up the last seat, next to him.

"All right," Gregorio said, folding his hands in front of him. "None of you know why you're here, but I believe you all understand that it's urgent."

"Of course," Gary replied as the others nodded, his words coming out a little more sarcastically than he'd intended. His mood was affecting him.

"Yes, well, we have a mission of a delicate nature for you to handle. You see, the OSS has discovered that a plot has been hatched to launch the world into a third world war. The man behind this is hidden in a vast lab on the ocean floor, which has allowed him – up till now – to evade our sensors. He's bio-engineering a race of mind-controlling insects. Once bitten by one, the victim's mind comes under the control of this guy, who calls himself the Mad Scientist, and they will be forced to do his bidding. It is your job to take a small craft down to his lab, infiltrate the facility, and destroy his creations." Gregorio glanced at each of them in turn to measure their reactions. No one moved. "I've brought young Carlos Vitorino to assist us." He nodded to the new guy. "The Brazilian branch of the OSS has created a small device that will effectively disable the mindbugs and they have selected Mr. Vitorino to act as their Spy Kids representative. Gary, Carmen, Juni and Gerti, you all know each other and I trust you to work well together to accomplish your mission with Mr. Vitorino's help." He sat back and crossed his arms, surveying them intensely. "Do you accept this mission?"

Carlos Vitorino smiled coolly and nodded as the others exchanged brief glances before nodding their assent. "We accept."

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_What do you think? You like? Review! You hate? Still review! Thanks!_

_Elena_


	3. Debug Mission: Day One

_Hey! Sorry about the hideously long wait. I had part of this chapter written a while ago, got caught up in my HP fic, and then got completely drowned in school work, earning money for tuition, and making it through life in general. So my apologies. Hope you don't hate me too much for it! Anyway, after months and months of waiting, I present to you THE THIRD CHAPTER! Enjoy!

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**Chapter Three: Debug Mission: Day One**

"So…" Juni drawled as the specialized SeaShark made its way toward them from the OSS's underwater hangars, "Who's gonna man the pilot's seat?"

"I am," Carmen, Gary and Carlos all said at the same time. They traded surprised glances while Gerti and Juni smirked. Apparently no one had considered the issue of just who was supposed to be the leader of this little operation.

"Well," Gary heard himself start to say, "I think we should choose the person best suited to the job."

"Oh really, Giggles?" Carlos asked, a touch of scorn lacing his voice, "Did you think that one up all by yourself?"

Gary tensed, ready to spring on the other boy, his dislike deepening to pure loathing. Something about this guy just seemed to get under his skin and rub him the wrong way. Gerti, sensitive as always to her brother's moods, laid a hand on his wrist, attempting to calm him down. He relaxed. Just a little.

But Carlos wasn't finished. "I suppose you were going to say that _you_ are the best one to sit in the pilot's seat? Think again, buddy. I'm more qualified than you are."

Carmen's eyes were watching both boys anxiously and she seemed annoyed with the whole situation. Her eyes met Gary's with irritation.

Gently, he shook his arm out of Gerti's hold. "On the contrary, _Vitorino_," he replied, a touch of a sneer playing across his lips, "I was going to suggest that Carmen do it. She's smarter than you, anyways." He risked a glance at Carmen and was gratified to see the surprise and warm appreciation in her dark eyes.

"Okay," Juni said quickly before anyone else could say anything, "now that that's all settled, let's go." Without further ado, he stepped aboard the SeaShark and disappeared inside. Gerti followed quickly, while both Gary and Carlos paused to let Carmen go before them. They stood for a moment after she'd disappeared, both unsure who should go first.

Carlos took a step toward the SeaShark and donned aviator sunglasses. "Just remember, Giggles, I'm the one with the key to making this mission work, so don't tick me off." He smiled again as Gary's eyes flashed in anger and boarded the SeaShark.

Gary glared after him. "Right," he said to himself as he followed, "I'll remember that…"

* * *

Several hours later found them cruising along the ocean floor at a steady speed. They had another day before they reached the underwater lab. Juni sat in front of one of the computers, amusing himself with some videogame, Gerti was sprawled across her bunk, taking a nap, Carmen was reclining contentedly in the pilot's seat, reading a book, Carlos was fiddling with some small gadget, and Gary was absently watching the passing underwater scenery. 

Suddenly, Carlos leaned over to Carmen. "Hey, I'm stuck on this gadget thing, think you could figure it out?"

She looked up from her book in surprise. "Sure," she said with a smile. She took the gadget from Carlos' hands, her fingertips brushing his, and examined it. Feigning curiosity, he leaned in to look at it as well, his head almost touching hers. "Well," she said at length, "you've got these two switches in the wrong place. Just put this one here, like this, and this one over here, like this."

"Oh," he said, seeming surprised.

Gary, who was watching intently, smirked in annoyance. The boy was good, he had to give him that. Appealing to Carmen's intelligence in order to win her over. _Too good,_ Gary decided. He got up and paced irritably back toward the SeaShark's stash of InstaFoods, pulling out a lasagna one and popping it into the microwave converter that transformed it into his favorite meal. Behind him, he heard Carlos murmur something in a low voice and felt the muscles in his jaw twitch as Carmen laughed softly in answer, the sound of her voice soothing and melodic on his ears.

"Hey Gary?" Carmen suddenly addressed him, causing him to start in surprise and turn to find her deep brown eyes gazing imploringly into his own, "Can you toss in a Caesar Salad one for me? Thanks," she added as he rolled his eyes and moved back toward the InstaFood stash.

"Hey Giggles, I'm feeling hungry as well," Carlos said.

Gary paused in midaction, his hand frozen in place on the package of Carmen's meal of choice. Slowly, he steeled his nerves and calmed the thunder pounding his ears and turned back around. "I'm not your personal servant, Carlos. You're 'more qualified' than me, get it yourself."

Carmen coughed, hiding a smile behind her hand as she regarded Gary with a twinkle in her eyes. Gary felt his stomach swoop in answer. Carlos only sneered. "You had no problem getting _Carmen_ one, now did you?" he snapped.

"Hey," Carmen said placatingly, placing a hand on Carlos' arm. The other boy turned to meet her eyes. "Don't start anything, okay, Carlos?"

He said nothing for several seconds, gazing into her eyes. At last, he tore his gaze from hers and said reluctantly. "Fine, I'll grab my own meal. It's not a big deal. I just figured that since _Gary_ was up, it would be less trouble."

She patted his arm. "Thanks."

By this point, Gary was so annoyed that he almost threw Carmen's meal into the microwave converter, yanked it out when it was done, and barely refrained from shoving it roughly into her arms as he gave it to her on his way back to his seat. Ignoring her thanks, he tugged out his copy of the mission overview and notes and buried his nose in it, pretending not to hear Carmen's continued conversation with Carlos and ignoring any and all attempts by her to engage him in conversation. He wasn't in the mood.

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_Again, sincerest apologies. I'm almost done with my HP one now, but I warn you that I might be a little slow to get this one going again because I lost the plot bunny. I'm hunting for it, though, no worries. If you've got any interesting drama-inducing ideas, please, let me know!_

_Cheerio!_

_Elena_


	4. Heart to Heart

_And now, after a hideously long hiatus on this story, Elena is BACK! I hope I haven't lost all my readers. I really am sorry for making you wait so long. I got caught up in another story, as well as life in general, so I sort of put this one on the back burner. My apologies. _

_And now I present to you the long-awaited fourth installment in Operation Debug! Enjoy!_

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**Chapter Four: Heart-to-Heart**

The SeaShark was spacious for an OSS submarine, but unfortunately, not quite spacious enough for Gary's needs. Unable to bear Carlos and Carmen's chit chat and repressed giggles any longer, he abruptly stood up and stalked away toward the SeaShark's rearward hatch. In response to Gerti's sleepy query about what he was doing, he replied irritably, "I'm checking the diving equipment before we get there."

This apparently set off some red flags in his younger sister's mind, because she slid out of her bunk and came to join him, her eyes suddenly alert and watchful. She accompanied him to the hatch and helped Gary open the compartment that stored their diving and underwater-exploration gear. As they checked through it, Gary's hands came to rest on the suit that belonged to Carlos. He hesitated, half-tempted to sabotage it. Gerti noticed his hesitation and hastily took it from him. "Maybe you'd better let me take this one," she told him, her voice taking on the slightly bossy tone that was her trademark.

Determined to act like nothing was up, he rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

He checked through the suits belonging to him and Carmen and Juni, while Gerti finished up Carlos' and double-checked her own. Satisfied and hoping he'd been away long enough for Carmen and Carlos to finish their little dialogue, he closed the compartment and got to his feet, walking slowly back toward the main chamber, Gerti right on his heels.

He should have known better. He walked in and saw Carmen at her computer, looking something up. Carlos was seated on the armrest of her chair, one arm on the seat-back behind her, and pointing out things on the screen as she typed. His ire rose again, but apparently they'd noticed his return, because Carmen jumped and spun her chair around to face him, forcing Carlos to stand up and move back in the process. "Gary," she said a little breathlessly, "where did you go?"

Well, at least she was talking to _him_ now. He nodded casually back toward the hatch. "Checking up on the suits," he replied.

"Good," Carlos added. "That needed to be done. It's nice to know we can count on you for something, Giggles."

Gary bristled a little bit. "You can count on me for a lot of things," he replied coolly, "That's why I'm assigned on this mission, same as you."

Juni had turned away from his computer console and was watching them intently, obviously picking up on the tension in the room. Gerti remained hovering mindfully at Gary's side, and Carmen was watching both young men with an expression of obvious irritation. "Gary, calm down," she snapped sharply, "and quit trying to pick a fight with Carlos every other second, will you? You guys don't like each other, but you're going to have to pretend to get along until we get home, okay?"

The rebuke from Carmen's lips cut deeply. He blinked several times in quick succession and took a step back. "Fine," he replied sullenly as he still tried to be the bigger man, "I'll just go sit in the back and wait until you guys ring for me, how does that sound?" The challenge was mainly directed at Carmen, and he could tell that it hurt her. He didn't wait around to hear her response, however, but spun on his heel and retrieved his lasagna from the microwave – after reheating it again – and went to sit back in the sleeping area and finish his food.

"Well, that went well," Gerti said, coming to sit on his bed a few minutes later. "Now Carlos _and_ Carmen are mad at you."

"Don't remind me, Cheeseball," he retorted, using the insult that had somehow turned into an affectionate nickname for his younger sister. He took another bite of food and almost choked as it burned his tongue and made his eyes water.

Gerti snickered at him. "Good going."

He glared at her. "If you're going to stick around here, how about getting something useful to do instead of bothering me?"

She complied by getting up and retrieving their mission specs and setting up the mini-hologram device that generated a 3-D view of the space lab. Settling herself snugly against his side – a new habit that had emerged when he'd begun loosening up after the Island Incident – she activated it and surveyed the information panning across the air in front of them. Gary regarded his little sister out of the corner of his eye, wondering vaguely where his "bad boy" persona had gone. There had been a time when he was like Carlos to a tee. Nobody messed with him, nobody crossed him, and he took over every situation in a heartbeat. Then he met Carmen. The Island Incident had taught him a lot about learning to care about other people and about doing the right thing. He'd changed. Now he was wondering if Carmen really _did_ go for the bad boy types. She didn't seem as interested in him anymore. Did that mean he'd turned into a namby-pamby goody two-shoes?

"Hello-o-o? Gary, I'm talking to you!" Gerti exclaimed, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Sorry, I was spacing," he replied, shaking his head briskly.

"Yeah, _really_ spacing. I don't think you heard anything I said."

"Gerti, do you think I'm different?" he asked suddenly, before she could launch into her spiel on the Mad Scientist's lab again.

She looked up at him in confusion. "What?"

"You know, since the Island Incident. Have I changed?"

She made a face at this sudden heart-to-heart. "I think you've taken a few too many bites of too-hot lasagna," she replied.

"Just answer the question," he said, scowling at her.

Clearly uncomfortable, she shrugged. As he continued to watch her, however, her expression changed. She was a girl, after all. Conversations like this were second-nature to her and her little friends. He could tell she was warming to the idea of a meaningful conversation with her brother. She settled back against his shoulder again. "Yeah, you've changed," she said at last. "But it's a good kind of change."

"You don't think I'm too… uncool, now?"

"You were cool before?" she asked teasingly. He scowled again and she sobered instantly. "You're less obnoxious than you used to be. If that means you're less cool now, you boys need to rework your vocabularies."

"I'm not… too mellow? Too nice?"

She sat up and glared at him. "Look, if this is just about Carmen, you can stop worrying, okay? The only way you're going to be too nice and scare her is if you try to pull one of these weird conversations on her. You're a guy. This isn't normal! Honestly! Who cares if you're a nice guy? Girls like nice guys, in case you haven't noticed."

"Carlos seems to think he can walk all over me. Carmen does too."

Gerti snorted. "If you'd been able to see the look on your face when you stand up to Carlos, you'd never say that." She sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. "I can't believe I'm telling you this. You'd think guys could figure these things out on their own. I feel like a shrink, and I'm only twelve! Carlos is intimidated by you. That's why he acts the way he does. You don't see him trampling all over Juni, do you? And honestly, Juni's much more trampleable than you are," she admitted ruefully. She gazed off in the direction of the main cabin for a second before pulling back into herself. "Now, are you done asking me stupid questions?" she asked, sounding more like her normal self.

Gerti's words had given him a lot to think about. He grinned at her and re-activated the holographic interface. "Calm down, Cheeseball, and focus on the mission. Stop talking about unimportant things."

She made another face at him. "You have got to be the most annoying brother in the world," she grumbled.

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_Some brother-sister bonding time! I'm getting the feeling now that I'm back on this story that maybe my characters should be a little bit older. I have a hard time with Juni and Gerti being only 12. To me they're more... 14? So how old would that make Carmen and Gary?_

_Thanks for being so patient with me. It's touching and heartwarming to have loyal fans. Again, my sincerest apologies for taking so long. It really wasn't fair to you guys at all. But I'm back now and alternating between two of my stories to keep the juices flowing. This is one of them, I promise! So please review and let me know that I haven't lost you all!_

_Elena_


	5. Early Bird Gets the Worm

**Chapter Five: Early Bird Gets the Worm**

The next morning, Gary was the second one up. Juni was up and sitting in the co-pilot's seat, fiddling with some of the navigational controls. "How's it coming, Juni?" he asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Juni didn't look up from what he was doing. "We should get there after lunch, luckily. I don't want to go in on an empty stomach."

Gary chuckled. "Hey, go take a break. Get some sleep. I'll take over."

Juni, who had obviously been up all night making sure nothing weird happened while they were sleeping, gratefully got up and wandered back toward the sleeping quarters to take a quick nap. Gary seated himself in the co-pilot's seat and pulled up the navigational charts to take a quick look at their proximity to the underwater lab. Satisfied that Juni's assessments were correct, he pulled up the mission notes and took a quick break into his personal files to send an update message to Gregorio Cortez and a copy to his parents.

"What are you doing?" a gentle voice asked behind him.

He turned to see Carmen standing behind him; she was busy strapping on her gadget belt – for once, better equipped than his own – but she finished and came over to him.

Slightly dizzy from the smell of her hair, he shrugged. "Sending an update to your father. Just so he doesn't worry. I'm also looking over the layout of the lab. There's got to be an optimum way to get in without triggering any sensors or alarms…" he trailed off as she seated herself on the armrest of his chair to get a better look, her lovely dark eyes narrowed in thought.

"What about the waste airlock here?" she asked, pointing to a small hatch in the hull of the lab. "Do you think we could get in through that?"

Gary felt a newfound respect for Carmen. Not many girls would suggest something like that so casually. Or as something other than a last resort. He fiddled with the keyboard, pulling the schematics of that section of the lab into greater detail. "It'll be tricky. It's a tight fit between the two airlock doors and they're offset by about ten minutes to give the chamber time to fill and drain the water. We'd be lucky to get two through at a time."

She shrugged. "So we do two at a time."

"Thirty minutes?" he asked skeptically. "Do you think we can be just sitting around in that sector for that long without being discovered?"

"We'll risk it." She fiddled absently with a button on Gary's sleeve. "I think we should send Carlos first, then Juni and Gerti…" she trailed off, leaving the final pairing eloquently unstated.

Gary couldn't quite believe his ears. Carmen wanted to pair with him on this little endeavor? However, he wasn't about to overlook logistics just for the sake of a few moments alone in a tight spot with Carmen. It was enough to know she wanted the arrangement that way. "Wouldn't it make more sense to pair us up unevenly? You and Juni, me and Gerti? The difference in sizes will make it a little less snug than if two older agents tried to fit in the same space. We'll be able to maneuver better."

"I suppose you're right," she admitted, though it was clear from the look on her face that the solution had occurred to her as well, and she might have been hoping he wouldn't pick up on it. Happiness washed through him. He couldn't quite keep the smile off his face as he turned it away from her, pretending to be occupied with the control console on his other side. A brush of fingertips on the back of his hand drew his attention back to Carmen. As he turned his head, she began drawing tiny circles on the skin of his hand with the tip of her finger. "You've gotten me out of trouble quite a few times. How come we're not better friends?" she asked, her head down so he couldn't see her eyes.

"We've both been busy," he replied. He turned his hand over and splayed his fingers. She accommodated and laced her fingers through his. "But we have time now."

She squeezed his hand appreciatively, and left her hand in his for several long minutes as they went over the schematics of the lab and discussed some alternative infiltration tactics.

* * *

The sounds of Carlos and Gerti getting up about twenty minutes later prompted Carmen to pull her hand away from Gary's and she quickly crossed the cockpit to sit in her seat and appear fully occupied on her side of the submarine, but fleeting glances in his direction told Gary that she wished she was still sitting next to him. His mood infinitely higher, he hummed a little tune to himself as he read over the response he'd just gotten from Gregorio.

Carlos walked in, cinching his belt and cavalierly adjusting his neatly-pressed button-up shirt. "Buenos días," he murmured as he approached Carmen, his manner filled with genteel concern for her well-being. "I trust you slept well, Carmen?"

"Like a baby," she assured him.

"Meaning you woke up every two hours and cried for something to eat," Gary quipped, not taking his eyes off the screen in front of him.

He heard Carmen choke on her laughter and hastily reach for something to drink. Gratified, he smirked to himself while Carlos shrugged this off. "I suppose you were the one who got up to get her food, were you Giggles?"

Gary met the other boy's eyes. "It was a joke, Carlos," he said levelly.

"Well, we're not on this mission to have fun," he replied smoothly.

"Whatever," Gerti mumbled, wandering in her robe and slippers and patting Gary affectionately on the shoulder while suppressing a yawn, "a little fun never hurt anyone," she added as he responded with a brotherly nudge to wake her up more.

"Yeah," Juni added, yawning and stretching. Apparently the noise in the cabin had prevented him from getting any more sleep. Gary made a mental note to take the graveyard shift next time they had to so that Juni wouldn't be forced to stay up so late again. "We're kids, Carlos," Juni was still saying, "we're supposed to have fun."

Outnumbered and out-voted, Carlos backed down with a scowl and tried to assuage his feelings by seating himself right next to Carmen. She returned his queries and attentions with perfect politeness, but every now and then, Gary caught her glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. She was currently explaining to Carlos the scheme that she and Gary had come up with to get into the lab. He listened carefully, glancing occasionally at Gary in suspicion. Clearly the idea that Carmen and Gary had been in cahoots, coming up with brainy ideas without him, unsettled him a bit.

Gerti was also listening intently. True to form, she objected to the idea. "But… the _waste_ hatch?" she complained. "That's disgusting!"

"Got any better ideas?" Gary replied calmly, knowing his sister would come around eventually. Girly or not, she was a darn good spy and she never _actually_ refused to do something on a mission, no matter how disgusting it was.

"Gerti, if it makes you feel better, I could go with you through the hatch…" Juni suddenly spoke up. "… I mean, if you want me to." He blushed as he realized that Carmen, Gary, Carlos, and Gerti were all staring at him in mingled surprise and amusement.

Gary nudged his sister, who was still leaning back against his seat. "Well, sis? D'you want to go with me, or with Shrimp, here?" He winked at Juni as the younger boy glared at him.

Annoyed that the attention was suddenly all on her, Gerti chewed on her bottom lip. Carlos and Carmen watched her closely, both aware of the tensions that would surround the other pairing if Gerti chose to go with Juni. Gary, too, was a little concerned. He didn't want to get embroiled in any romantic tension right now. Maybe after the mission, but not now.

Gerti looked plaintively back at him, her eyes begging him to help her out. Knowing her as well as he did, he could tell that she desperately wanted to go with Juni, but that she was afraid to make it known to the general public. "I'll go with you, Gary," she said quietly. Her eyes followed Juni closely as he sagged a bit and wandered away to get something to eat.

"We're approaching the lab," Carmen announced to no one in particular. Juni hurried back, hastily chewing on a half of a hot pocket. She set the controls on autopilot with a command to stop and cloak at one hundred yards from the lab and got up from her chair. "We should get ready."

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_Gary/Carmen! Yay! By the way, thanks to my reviews who offered suggestions. I'll probably use some of your ideas, but take them and turn them into something completely my own. Basically your suggestions set off triggers in my head that lead to one thing, then another, and eventually evolve into something completely new. _

_Anyways, please review!_

_Elena_


	6. Getting In

**Chapter Six: Getting In**

Gary could feel the adrenaline beginning to pound through his veins. It was always like this at the start of a mission. It was why he loved being a Spy Kid. And when he was old enough (just a few short years!) it would be the reason he would join the ranks of the OSS. He grabbed his diving suit and pulled it on over his black OSS sweater and khaki slacks. Juni and Gerti were already suited up – Juni just finishing helping Gerti cinch the oxygen tank over her shoulders, something his cleverly flirtatious little sister had asked Juni to do to keep him nearby. As Gerti sent him a questioning glance, he chuckled to himself and shook his head, knowing she would get the message that he admired her techniques. Sure enough, she grinned in a highly self-satisfied way and peeked over her shoulder at Carmen's little brother.

Carmen and Carlos came in, drawing Gary's attention to them. He noticed with a flash of irritation that Carlos's hand was on the small of Carmen's back to steady her as she climbed into the decompression chamber that would allow them to exit the ship without flooding it. She didn't seem inclined to shrug away from the other boy's touch, but when she bent over to retrieve her suit, it was Gary's shoulder that her hand settled on to keep her balanced.

Few words were exchanged before they pulled their diving caps and masks on, sealing their hair and clothes in the protective gear to keep them dry. They had reached the stage of the mission where they would either get in or be sure to fail. Without a word, Carmen keyed in the code to seal their chamber off from the rest of the SeaShark and allow water from outside to flow steadily in, covering them completely. When the chamber was full, the outer hatch opened easily and they all kicked out into their salty surroundings. The internal pressure regulators in their suits worked superbly, preventing the hundreds of pounds of pressure at this depth from crushing them.

Carmen led out, swimming through the water with strong, fluid strokes while the others fell in behind her. Carlos was obviously a strong swimmer and soon passed Gary to pull up beside Carmen, matching her stroke for stroke. Gerti and Juni trailed behind Gary by a few feet, bumping hands and feet far too frequently to be considered accidental. He glanced back at them, rolled his eyes, and directed his attention once more to the shadowy form of the hull rising toward them as the angled down toward its position on the smooth ocean floor. Waving a hand to get their attention, Carmen pointed toward an almost invisibly-small hatch in the lab's hull and began swimming directly for it. It grew larger and larger through their goggles until it appeared to be about the size of a kitchen sink when they finally reached it.

As they gathered around, Gary consulted his very-waterproof watch and raised seven fingers to tell them how long they had to wait before the hatch opened. Carmen nodded and caught hold of Carlos' arm. She gestured that he should go first. Ever anxious to please her, he nodded and readied himself while Gary kept an eye on the clock.

Seven minutes later, the hatch suddenly opened, clouding the water with the pureed waste collected from all over the lab. It was a nauseating yellowish brown and smelled awful, even through their suits. Gerti and Carmen blanched visibly, while Juni put one hand protectively on his stomach, his face screwed up in disgust. Gary suppressed his natural instinct to cough and gag, knowing it would use up precious oxygen and add more carbon dioxide to his suit's built-in air filters. As soon as the bulk of the waste matter had cleared the area, Carlos swam rapidly toward the now-closing hatch and slipped inside in just the nick of time. Gary raised an eyebrow. This timing issue was going to be even trickier. To get two people inside, they'd have to start entering even as the waste jetted out. That meant swimming against the current. He felt fairly confident in his own ability to do so, and Carmen obviously could, but if he had to pull or push Gerti ahead of him, he'd never make it fast enough.

They had another ten minutes before the hatch opened, so he drew them down to the ocean floor and began writing and drawing in the sand to convey to them his intentions. It was a slim chance, but if he and Carmen could push Juni and Gerti against the current and into the hatch at the same time, they might get the both of them in before the hatch began closing again. That left him and Carmen to swim against the current one after the other to get into the hatch the third time. The other three nodded their assent to this change in plans and they lined up to perform the maneuver as soon as the hatch opened. The current would be a strong one, so it would work best to be on either side of it and grab onto the sides of the hatch opening as soon as the door opened.

The next ten minutes passed and the hatch began opening. They'd been farther away from it the first time, and had been little affected by the current's force. Up close and personal, it was very strong and the lab's compression system forcefully expelled the waste from the chamber inside. He and Carmen shoved Juni and Gerti toward the hatch and they managed to grip the sides of the opening. Still fighting to push against the current, they continued to push as their younger siblings hauled themselves inside. At last, the current died down and Gerti and Juni scrambled the rest of the way inside as the door descended, sealing them inside.

Exhausted, Gary allowed himself to drift lightly in the tiny ocean currents swirling and eddying around him, knowing that he had to recuperate as fully as possible in the next ten minutes before it came turn for them to battle the current again. He and Carmen had agreed that he would go first and help pull her in. The ten minutes passed far too quickly for Gary's comfort and he returned to the hatch to battle it out one more time.

Right on cue, the hatch began opening. Even as it slid open, he was blasted by the force of the current rushing through the opening. He hastily swam several rapid, strong strokes and caught hold of the frame around the opening. His muscles were screaming in protest to the workout they were receiving, but he pulled himself inside, using his feet to anchor against either side of the opening so that he wouldn't be expelled back out. Carmen was right behind him, latching onto the inside of the opening. Already the current was dying down; it had taken him longer than he'd thought to get inside. Doubtless Carmen was on the verge of panicking. He took her hand and pulled her toward him, catching her utility belt with his other hand. She grabbed onto various different parts of his diving suit and dragged herself inside as the hatch closed behind her.

It was a tight fit in the small chamber, and they sat, knees jammed uncomfortably against each other and the walls around them, as the water drained out around them. Right above their heads was the other hatch that opened to allow the garbage to roll in. Chunks of garbage. _Uh-oh_. Gary flicked on his headlight and stared hard at the walls around them. Sure enough, razor-thin slits lined the walls, each slit surely a house for the thousands of blades that whizzed out and pureed the garbage before it was jetted outside. They had to get out of there. Fast. He urged himself to breathe slowly. Obviously Carlos, Gerti and Juni had gotten out without any mishaps, so he didn't need to worry about the blades activating as soon as the other hatch opened.

The water was down to a few inches and he yanked off his breathing mask so that he could talk. Mistake. The smell was _awful_! He nearly threw up. Carmen's head was resting on his chest, her breathing mask still on, but she raised it when he heaved beneath her. "We need to move fast when the door opens," he rasped, still trying not to breathe more than he had to.

She nodded and made to remove her mask, but he quickly motioned for her to leave it on. Checking his watch, he saw that it had been five minutes. The hatch above their heads slid quickly open. "Now!" Gary shouted, and they began scrambling up the long tube that angled away ahead of them, even as various articles of garbage and waste began falling toward them. The stench was so awful that he fumbled to put his breathing mask back on, grateful that the suit protected his hair and clothes from being saturated with the muck. He'd been less fortunate before.

A light caught his eye: a grate. It opened to who-knows-where, but it was an escape from the garbage, so he didn't really care. He crawled toward it, feeling Carmen follow behind him. Pushing it open, they tumbled out into what appeared to be a food pantry of sorts. Shelves and shelves of food lined the walls around them and, most reassuring of all, three muck-smeared wetsuits were strewn on the ground in front of them.

Carmen had already begun climbing out of hers, and he hurried to follow. The smell from the suits was still pretty bad, but at least it wasn't as strong as it was when they were sitting in the pit of the waste dump. They shed them quickly, trying to keep their feet and hands from touching any of it, and when they were free at last, they slipped quickly to the door and slid through it. The room they had entered was mercifully dimly lit. He scanned around for the other three, but couldn't see them. Anywhere.

The skin on the back of his neck prickled. Something was wrong. They knew the rules. When working as a group, all spies remain in place, waiting for those still coming. He didn't know how the Brazilian OSS did it, but he should have at least found Juni and Gerti waiting for them here.

Carmen sensed it, too. "Gary?" she asked hesitantly.

For answer, he laced his fingers through hers and pulled her close to him, leading the way as he stepped cautiously into the center of the room. An object lying on the floor drew his attention: one of Juni's granola bars. Knowing Juni, he would not have easily parted with one of these. The red flags were really going up now. Carmen stooped to pick it up, fingering it nervously. "Where are they?" she asked him.

"I don't know," he replied. On inspiration, he dug around in his utility belt and found the one thing that probably trumped Carmen's gadgets: a Class V Senior OSS Agent stun gun. Contraband from his father. Her eyes widened appreciatively at the weapon.

"Do you know how to use that?" she asked.

He gave a scandalized look. "Of course. Do you think my dad would have given it to me if I couldn't?"

"Yes, I do," she replied immediately, "I've met your dad, remember?"

He grimaced a little. Donagan Giggles had a reputation for impulsiveness and often coming up with totally hare-brained plots to gain power. The most notable of which was the Yucata Intrigue that had first brought Gary and Carmen together on a mission – granted, on opposite sides at that point. He had recently toned down, but still had a knack for doing things outside of the OSS's standard codes of conduct. Like furnishing a Junior Agent with a gadget that most Senior Agents didn't usually get to handle until much later in their lives. Fortunately for he and Carmen right now, Gary's dad _had_ taught him how to use and shoot fairly accurately with it before giving it to him.

"Come on," he said, leading the way out of the chamber, "Let's figure out what's happening here."

* * *

_Sorry for the minimal romance in this chapter. The story is an action/adventure, after all, not a straight up romance. What can I say? I'm bound by the genre I write in. _


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